A former Australian prime minister is invited to an intimate, private function with an incoming president of the United States… and all the haters can do is criticize him?
Yes, that is the state of public debate these days.
Scott Morrison and his wife Jenny were guests of Donald Trump at a New Year’s party at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, posing for a photograph with the president-elect, angering the former prime minister’s political critics.
The conga line of critics included Teal’s powerful financial backer, Simon Holmes-a-Court, who – in some ways – compared Morrison’s popularity to that of convicted child sex offender Rolf Harris.
“Morrison is almost as popular as Rolf Harris,” he tweeted.
I mean, seriously, what a dirty, inexperienced attitude from someone who really should know better. Do the Teal MP’s Holmes-a-Court backgrounds agree with your comparison? If not, do they have the courage to condemn his comments and risk financial retaliation?
The Teals, after all, claim integrity is their number one mantra.
More generally, whatever one thinks of Trump, it is surely a good thing for Australia that a former political leader has such a relationship with the incoming US president.
Scott Morrison and his wife Jenny were guests of Donald Trump (pictured with his wife Melania) for a New Year’s party at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, posing for a photo with the president-elect, which angered the political critics of the former prime minister.
The conga line of critics included Teal’s powerful financial backer, Simon Holmes-a-Court (pictured, left, with his wife, second from right), who, in some ways, compared the popularity of Morrison with that of convicted child sex offender Rolf Harris.
It’s not like our ambassador to the United States, Kevin Rudd, can pick up the phone and talk to Trump about pressing issues as they arise.
Their relationship remains strained after Rudd described Trump as a “traitor” and “the most destructive president in history.”
Anthony Albanese’s relationship with Trump isn’t much better, after similarly disparaging comments he made during Trump’s first campaign for the White House.
Trump’s critics on the left are rightly upset by some of the allegations that have come to light about his conduct over the years.
They point to his history of inappropriate attitudes toward women, such as his ‘grab them by the pussy’ comment and his hush money for porn star Stormy Daniels, and his incitement of rioters who stormed the Capitol after his 2020 election loss. before JoeBiden.
But like it or not, Trump is back and Australia now has to deal with all sorts of controversial political promises he made during the campaign, including his plans to raise tariffs that could cripple Australian exports.
Morrison may be our only hope of persuading Trump to exempt Australia from that promised plan.
Instead of mocking Morrison’s relationship with the president-elect, we should be grateful for it.
Instead of mocking Scott Morrison’s (pictured) relationship with the president-elect, we should be grateful for it, says Peter van Onselen
And I say this as someone who was a long-time critic of Morrison during his tenure as Prime Minister.
Morrison will be an important piece in the Australian chess game over the next four years, if the government has the good sense to use him.
I witnessed first-hand how close the two were during Morrison’s state dinner in late 2019, following his unexpected victory over Bill Shorten and the Labor Party earlier that year.
On that trip, we journalists were able to see first-hand his warm and genuine treatment. That’s not Trump’s natural predisposition when dealing with world leaders he has no soft spot for!
Now that Morrison plans to spend time in the United States working as a political consultant, there is an opportunity for Australia to build on that relationship.
You can bet Peter Dutton will seek Morrison’s help if he becomes prime minister after the next federal election.
It is up to Albo to do the same if he wins a second term.
Political politicians who despise Morrison and Trump must ask themselves how consistently they apply their righteous contempt for the incoming president compared to the bad actions of previous presidents.
For example, was former President Bill Clinton held to the same standards after it was revealed that he had oral sex with a 22-year-old intern in the Oval Office during his time in office (including while speaking on the phone with elected members of the presidency? )? congress?)
Or when Clinton misled the public about the scandal, declaring that he “never had sexual relations” with Monica Lewinsky, arguing over the precise meaning of “sexual relations.”
And what about Biden’s recent decision to use his presidential authority to pardon his son Hunter Biden, after long promising not to do so?
Are critics of Morrison and Trump so full of contempt for these actions by presidents on the other side of the partisan divide?
I doubt it, because they only selectively deploy their indignation against their partisan opponents, forgiving – or simply ignoring – the errors of those with whom they agree politically.
Virtue signaling loses its luster when it is filled with hypocrisy and double standards.